Chapter 10 - The False Victory
Sophie was dragged violently down the dimly lit corridor toward the wine cellar.
The two massive mercenaries held her arms in a crushing grip, completely ignoring her desperate struggles.
Behind her, she could hear Mrs. Moretti weeping softly as another guard pushed the frail woman forward.
They reached the heavy steel door of the cellar.
The same cellar where Sophie had seen the murdered loyalist guard just hours earlier.
The mercenary shoved Sophie into the cold, damp room, sending her crashing onto the hard concrete floor.
Her injured shoulder flared with blinding agony.
She gasped for air, struggling to push herself up.
The guards shoved Mrs. Moretti inside next to her and locked the heavy steel door from the outside.
They were trapped.
Sophie crawled over to the older woman, wrapping her arms around her trembling shoulders.
They sat in the dark, surrounded by dusty wine racks, listening to the heavy boots of the execution squad marching down the hallway.
“I am so sorry, Sophie,” Mrs. Moretti sobbed, burying her face in her hands.
“You tried to save us, and I dragged you into our cursed bloodline.”
Sophie didn't answer.
She was frantically searching the dark cellar for anything they could use as a weapon.
A broken bottle, a heavy stone, anything to fight back when the door opened.
She found nothing.
The heavy steel door suddenly clicked unlocked.
The hinges groaned as the door was pushed open.
Sophie stood up, placing herself firmly between the matriarch and the doorway, ready to fight to her last breath.
A tall figure stepped into the dim light of the cellar.
It wasn't a mercenary.
It was Luca.
He was holding a suppressed pistol in his right hand, his white shirt stained with fresh blood.
He quickly locked the door behind him and holstered his weapon.
“Mr. Moretti!” Sophie gasped, a massive wave of relief washing over her.
“How did you escape?”
Luca didn't smile.
His face was grim, his eyes completely devoid of warmth.
“I didn't escape,” Luca said quietly, stepping closer to them.
“Matteo let me go.”
Sophie frowned, utter confusion replacing her relief.
“Why would he let you go?”
“He said he came here to execute you and take the empire.”
Luca stopped just a few feet away from them.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, encrypted satellite phone.
He looked down at the glowing screen, completely ignoring her question.
Mrs. Moretti stepped forward, reaching out a trembling hand toward her eldest son.
“Luca, my brave boy,” she wept.
“We have to use the hidden tunnel to escape before Matteo’s men return.”
Luca looked at his mother.
His expression was utterly blank.
He raised his right hand and slowly aimed the suppressed pistol directly at his mother's chest.
Sophie froze in absolute horror, her blood turning to ice.
“Luca, what are you doing?” Sophie screamed, stepping in front of the older woman.
Luca looked directly into Sophie’s terrified eyes.
“My brother made me a very simple offer,” Luca whispered, his voice completely hollow.
“He promised to let me walk away with half a billion dollars from the offshore accounts and disappear to Europe.”
“But only if I prove my loyalty by finishing the execution Mother failed to complete fifteen years ago.”
Luca cocked the hammer of the heavy pistol.
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“I’m sorry, Sophie,” Luca said coldly.
“But the Moretti family always honors a deal.”
